Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Has $5.15 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,690 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.5% of Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $87,000. Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 647.8% during the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Family CFO Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,025,258 shares of company stock worth $12,160,356 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.2 %

MSFT opened at $406.66 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $303.40 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $413.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $390.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.